Categories

Archive

While walking Seneca over the past half year we often stroll the grounds of the Horseheads Fire Department, out in the back lot near the remains of the old Chemung Canal. During the Summer I noticed this one huge old tree by the Canal, and that all the bark at its base was being scraped or scratched off all the way around. I hadn’t paid much attention to it since……that is until yesterday! Man Oh Man…. have Bucky Beaver & His Buddies Been Busy over the Holidays!!! I am absolutely amazed at how much of the base of this tree has been chewed down, to the point soon where this massive tree is going to fall down, either into the Canal, or possibly onto the Fire Department Storage Barn that is located very close to this tree. And what’s really cool is that these chips that cover the ground are HUGE, nothing like sawdust, but more so the size of large potato chips! On the Close Up, you can actually see the imprint of the Little Beaver Teeth….Pretty Amazing!

After all….isn’t that what I’m capturing?
Had a Wedding Free weekend, but that certainly doesn’t always mean no shooting. I had the honor to capture the moments of a Memorial Service held for a Husband and Wife, married over 62 years, who passed away within 8 days of each other this spring. During a very nice slideshow presentation of the couple & their lives, I shot this image of their daughter & her husband through a partially open doorway…….and you can almost feel the emotions of love & longing in her heart as she watches the lives of her loving parents pass before her tear filled eyes.

I’ve been busy with lots of Recent, New Shoots as well as a little Spring Cleaning lately, so I’m finally getting around to finish posting the last of the great shots from my trip to Buffalo in March to shoot my NHL NY RANGERS vs.the Buffalo Sabres. You remember the Sabres….they ARE NOT playing hockey anymore this season!
And after looking at all of these shots once more… I REALLY AM Pretty Awesome at Shooting Hockey, Aren’t I? From The ECHL Little Leagues in Elmira NY, right up with the Big Boys in the NHL, I’ll go head to head with anyone!!!!

Back to Elmira Jackals Hockey Tonight…Hoping to keep the 6 Game Winning Streak Going!
But before I head out to First Arena, I thought I’d add Part 2 of my NHL Experience this past Tuesday Evening, with much more to come!

GREAT Game & Fine Shooting on Tuesday Night, the RANGERS came out on top 4-2 in the end. Ran into countless Elmira folks who also shuffled on up to Buffalo. It was a beautiful drive…73 degrees in places along the way! A bit different from last years slog when it was around Zero going up, then -18 coming back! No Climate Change here folks!
Anyway…I’m working my way through the First Period now, of nearly 2000 shots, so here’s just a tease till I get through all of them and post some full Blog Galleries! Hope you enjoy looking, as much as I did capturing. And make sure you click on each image, as they pop open pretty big!!!! God I Love What I do! PS: as usual, Thanks Jared for hooking me up!
I posted this on Facebook from the game, but I had the pleasure to meet and have dinner with the Buffalo Sabres Team Photographer Bill Wippert. Here I thought I’ve been shooting for the Jackals a long time now in season #16, but that’s NOTHING! We’re the same age, and Bill’s been shooting for the Sabres for FORTY ONE FRIGGING YEARS!!! Unbelievable!

Had to laugh….I was called in by my Buddy Horseheads FD Chief Artie Sullivan…so I dusted it off & grabbed my trusty old T&C Helmet with my nickname, the trademark BATMAN logo on it. When I got to the scene Artie and Heights Chief Mike Cadek gave me the OK to shoot away among the Fire Troops inside the FD crowd ropes…..while doing so a Heights PD Officer came up, thought I was just an ordinary civilian and was going to move me back….
I explained to him that I had permission to shoot there…..
He asked “Who are you?”
“I’M BATMAN”
End of story……..got lots of great stuff, and lucky for all of us….it was 54 degrees out this January 31st! Felt like a Spring Drill.

Good Ole’ Bill Shaw, the gentleman in the Yellow Fire Police Jacket & who has been in the Heights FD since he was 9 years old kept saying all night long…”I’ve been waiting Seventy One Years For This S.O.B. to Burn Down!” Well there you go Bill!!!

What a great way to get warmed up for my November 14th gig with 55 local Heroes, when we all fly down to Washington to take these boys on what most likely will be their last visit to the monuments honoring their heroic service to our country. Tonight’s fundraiser at the Horseheads Legion was highlighted by the incredible “American Bombshells” Singing Troupe out of Brooklyn, NYC. These three gals were a great treat to our senses of both sight & sound! They sure did make those nicely tailored ’40’s Military Costumes look mighty fine indeed, and their singing wasn’t bad either! But the thing that far surpassed both their visual and audio effect on everyone, was their genuine care for, respect and affection that they all showed while meeting and chatting with these grizzled old Veterans between their sets and after the show. They laughed, and chatted, and smiled with these guys, and I’m certain that by simply doing so, brought so many of these old boys back to life again tonight, when they felt once again like they did when they were young and in their prime, fighting for our country in some far away land! Prime Time!